Rural Development Ministry launches National Campaign on Entrepreneurship

The Ministry of Rural Development has launched a National Campaign on Entrepreneurship aimed at promoting rural women entrepreneurship and strengthening non-farm livelihoods under the Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana–National Rural Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NRLM).

The campaign seeks to train 50,000 Community Resource Persons (CRPs) in enterprise promotion and provide Entrepreneurship Development Programme (EDP) training to 50 lakh Self-Help Group (SHG) women members across the country. The initiative is aligned with the vision of “Promoting Rural Women Entrepreneurship – Har Ghar Udyam, Har Gaon Samriddh.”

Launched on January 12, 2026, by the Additional Secretary (Rural Development), the event witnessed participation from Advisor, NITI Aayog (RD&PR), Chairman, NABARD, and representatives from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, IFMR LEAD (KREA University), EDII, IIM Calcutta Innovation Park, along with senior officials and CEOs of State Rural Livelihoods Missions (SRLMs).

The DAY-NRLM aims to bring transformational change in the income levels of rural women by promoting diversified and sustainable livelihoods. The Ministry has committed to enabling at least 3 crore “Lakhpati Didis”—SHG women members earning ₹1 lakh or more annually—making large-scale capacity building of enterprise cadres essential.

Over the years, initiatives such as the Start-up Village Entrepreneurship Programme have demonstrated the effectiveness of trained community cadres in enterprise identification, start-up support, mentoring and handholding at the grassroots level.

The National Campaign on Entrepreneurship is expected to significantly deepen enterprise development across rural India, unlock the entrepreneurial potential of SHG women, foster local economic growth and facilitate linkages with formal financial institutions. The initiative aims to create a resilient, inclusive and self-reliant non-farm rural economy.